Chinese Migration Stories and Histories
Ada Con’s Family Migration Story
Pat Parungao’s Family Migration Story
May Q Wong’s Family Migration Story
Literature
Pacific Canada Personal Migration Videos
An Ocean Apart: The Gold Mountain Diary of Chin Mei-Ling by Gillian Chan 2004
Grades 5-7 /Ages 8-12
Mei-ling lives with her father in Vancouver, but her mother and baby brother are still in China. Mei-ling works after school, and her father holds down several jobs, in a frantic effort to come up with the head tax that will allow her mother and brother to come to Canada. They must have that money before the Exclusion Act bars any more Chinese from immigrating. Mei-ling cannot stop thinking about what will happen if they are unable to come up with the money to reunite their family.
The Chinese Violin by Madeleine Thien
Illustrated by Joe Chang 2001 Grades 3-5 / Ages 5-8
A moving and poignant account about immigration, and how cherished objects, mementos and memories can ease the pain of homesickness.
Learning to Fly by Paul Yee, 2008 Grades 5-12 / Ages 12 and up
Jason is an outsider. A recent immigrant from China, he lives in a close-minded town with his mother and younger brother. Falling in with the wrong crowd, trying to fit in, Jason takes chances and ends up in trouble with the police. Holding on to his friendship with an Indigenous boy, also an outsider, Jason finds he needs to fight to belong and to find a new home.
Me and Mr. Mah by Andrea Spalding (Divorce/ Chinese Canadian/ Memory Box)
The Diary of Dukesang Wong: A Voice from Gold Mountain edited by David Mcilwraith and translated by Wanda Joy Hoe.
Most of what is known about Chinese workers’ experiences building transcontinental railways throughout North America has been gathered from evidence produced by non-Chinese people. This book presents the extraordinary first person-account of Dukesang Wong, a Chinese worker who came to Gold Mountain to build the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Translated by his granddaughter Wanda Joy Hoe in the 1960s, Wong’s diary entries tell the story of gruelling labour, illness and starvation, and unrelenting racism.
Lesson Plans, Activities, & Resources
Addressing Anti-Asian Racism: A Resource for Educators This is where Canadian Facing History and Ourselves teachers and community members meet to share reflections, scholarship and teaching practices that will inspire, challenge and improve teaching and student learning.
Featuring Vancouver’s Chinatown as a living classroom, this three-part field trip includes a visit to the Chinese Canadian Museum exhibition gallery, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and a mini walking tour of Chinatown. Designed to complement the BC provincial curriculum, Grade 9 – 10 students will explore the endurance of Vancouver Chinatown and the resilience of the Chinese Canadian community through stories of food, community, and activism. www.chinatownexisting.ca
Canadian Encyclopedia: Chinese Immigration Act
Learn about the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known also as the Chinese Exclusion Act. This Act banned the entry of virtually all Chinese immigrants for 24 years.
The Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC
The Chinese Canadian Military Museum
The Chung Collection is housed in UBC’s Rare Books Collections. On display and open to the public on weekdays, is a sampling of artifacts relating to CPR rail and ships, the early Chinese Canadian immigrant experience (including photographs, ship manifests, head tax records, opium smoking paraphernalia), and maps by the early explorers. :https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/chung
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Located in Vancouver, it is the first full-scale classical Chinese Garden ever constructed outside of China.
Chinese Canadian Women, 1923-1967
Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the online exhibit entitled Chinese Canadian Women, 1923-1967: Inspiration - Innovation – Ingenuity, explores a compelling chapter of Canadian history through the experiences of Canadian women of Chinese heritage.
Heroes Remember: Chinese-Canadian Veterans
Veteran Affairs Canada’s Heroes Remember presents 21 veterans who speak candidly about their wartime efforts.
This website describes the Canada-Asia experience from earliest times to the present day. The website discusses the Asian experience in Canada, and the evolution of Canadian society, from exclusion to greater tolerance including the embracing of diversity.
The Ties That Bind: Building the CPR, Building a Place in Canada examines the struggle of communities of Chinese heritage in Canada, to establish their identity and roots in Canada. This online project was developed by The Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada.
The Virtual Museum of Asian Canadian Cultural Heritage (VMACCH)
In showcasing Asian Canadian heritage, VMACCH enables Asian Canadians to share their heritage among themselves and with the rest of Canada. The website also features works by Canadian artists of Asian heritage and encourages participation in the cultural life of Canada. It is also a valuable teaching resource for schools on Asian heritage and culture.